.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The dragons on this rare bowl were incised onto the surface of the bowl. They were then covered with a resist before glazing and firing the bowl, leaving the dragons reserved in the biscuit against the smooth surrounding glaze, thereby creating a subtle contrast of texture and color.
A bowl of this rare type, with Hongzhi mark, and of the period, is illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. I, Geneva, 1999, p. 121, no. 68 (A146). Another, in the Idemitsu Museum, is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, In Pursuit of the Dragon, Seattle Art Museum, 1988, p. 97, no. 35. In the catalogue, the bowl is illustrated across from a bowl decorated with similar dragons (no. 34), which were originally produced using the same resist and glazing technique, but were then covered with green glaze before the bowl was refired at a lower temperature.
A bowl of this rare type, with Hongzhi mark, and of the period, is illustrated by J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. I, Geneva, 1999, p. 121, no. 68 (A146). Another, in the Idemitsu Museum, is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, In Pursuit of the Dragon, Seattle Art Museum, 1988, p. 97, no. 35. In the catalogue, the bowl is illustrated across from a bowl decorated with similar dragons (no. 34), which were originally produced using the same resist and glazing technique, but were then covered with green glaze before the bowl was refired at a lower temperature.